Posted by: Dani Weinhandl
on May 25, 2017 | 2 min. read
on May 25, 2017 | 2 min. read
In an industry where downtime equates to dollars lost, getting the wrong material or coming across a defect often turns profitable business into a loss. During those moments when your metal service center doesn't deliver what you need, what do you do?
Metal Materials that Meet Specifications
Here are the steps I recommend if your material arrives and does not meet your project specifications:
1. Contact Your Metal Service Center (ASAP)
Get in touch with your contact as soon as possible. In some cases, simple fixes can be explored that will help minimize your down time. Additionally, giving your contact as much time as possible to esxplore solutions just increases your changes of having a workable situation.
2. Allow Them to Fix the Error
Despite best efforts, mistakes happen. In my experience, if you give a supplier the opportunity to correct a problem, it can go two ways:
- They will react quickly and correct the mistake.
- They drag their feet and perhaps don't even try to offer a solution.
Obviously scenario one is preferred, but if you run across scenario two, they're simplified your decision on which service center would make the best partner.
3. Find an Alternative Metal Supplier
Of course, the primary goal never changes. You have materials to source for a specific application, and you need those materials in the proper specifications as efficiently as possible. If your initial vendor cannot get the job done, seek out an alternative metal service center.
4. Stop Mistakes Before They Happen
The final step is to do your best to ensure a mistake like this doesn't happen again. The time and resources required to fix the problem are significant enough, but if you had a customer expecting their metal materials at a certain time (and in a certain quality), you might end up dealing with diminished trust in that relationship as well.
When you partner with a metal service center that places a premium on service, quality, and meeting customer needs, you'll stop supplier-related mistakes before they even happen.
